


Broken Clocks

by Ink_Filled_Dreams



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic Boyfriends, M/M, Polyamory, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Filled_Dreams/pseuds/Ink_Filled_Dreams
Summary: Xiaojun's clock is broken. So is his soulmate's. Still, they meet, and fall in love, just as the universe wants for them. So how come their timers are still counting down?
Relationships: Liu Yang Yang/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 2
Kudos: 123





	Broken Clocks

A week. Five days. Two.

Xiaojun thought he was ready. He had been watching the clock on his wrist slowly tick down, day after day, year after year, and he had gone over every possible scenario he could think of. He thought he was prepared, until suddenly he wasn't, and now the timer read two hours. Today was the day he moved into his new dorm, which meant his soulmate was most likely going to be his new roommate. _A guy, then._

He remembered being five, watching the clock with fascination. At the time, it had read fifteen years and seven months, which seemed like an eternity, but now that day was here. Xiaojun felt like he should be excited, but the only emotion he could muster was fear. He didn't want to know what would happen if his soulmate had a different soulmate, or if they didn't like him, or were already in a relationship with someone else. Xiaojun had been waiting for this moment for twenty years, he couldn't bear it if something went wrong.

He looked back at his wrist, checking to see how much longer he had left. It had to have been fifteen minutes at least, surely. It felt like an hour had passed since he last checked.

_Three months, five days, and twenty three hours._

"What?" He asked out loud, sitting up a bit straighter. Had he read it wrong? No, it still said three months. In all of his years, the time had never shifted, not even by a second. Did something happen to his soulmate? Why would the time change? It wasn't supposed to do that!

The anticipation from before waned. Did that mean they wouldn't meet today? He had been nervous, but he still looked forward to meeting them, whether it ended poorly or not. Xiaojun pulled down his sleeve, blocking the timer from his sight, and hopefully his thoughts. It was time to leave, anyways. He wanted to get to the dorms early, so he wouldn't get stuck in a crowd.

When he pulled up to the school, the anxious fluttering feeling had started up once more. _Please be fixed._

He pulled his sleeve up slowly, bracing himself for either three months, or worse, a longer time.

_Eleven minutes, fourteen seconds._

Xiaojun let out a relieved sigh, letting his head fall back against his seat. It must've been a fluke.

"So I will meet you today," he said, running a finger over the smooth, glassy face of the clock. Xiaojun only had a few boxes of stuff to bring up, since he had done his best to pack light. He grabbed the box labeled _clothes_ and made his way up to his room. He had been on campus twice before - once for orientation, and once for a tour, and during the latter visit he had been able to see his room, so he knew where it was.

He tried not to run as he climbed the stairs. Each passing second brought him closer and closer to meeting his soulmate, and they'd meet when the time said, so running wouldn't do him any good anyways. He stopped, bracing the box against the wall so he could check his timer.

_Three minutes left._

He could picture his soulmate on the other side of the door, pacing back and forth as he waited for Xiaojun, probably just feeling just as excited. Xiaojun started walking a bit faster, unable to help it. He could feel a strange pulling deep within his chest, driving him forward.

When he reached the door he stopped, his pulse thrumming audibly in his ears. There were so many that this moment could go wrong, but maybe he'd get lucky, and things would work out perfectly. He wouldn't know until he opened the door, but he couldn't will himself to do it. His legs felt stuck in place.

He didn't know how much time he had left, but it surely wasn't much. What if it had already reached zero, and he missed his chance because he couldn't work up the courage to open a door? It's not like his soulmate would jump out the window or something because he was a few seconds late, but Xiaojun couldn't help but worry. This was the most defining moment in his life, and he couldn't afford to screw it up.

The door flew open then, startling him out of his thoughts. He took a step back instinctively, peering over the top of his box to see his soulmates face for the first time. Wide, brown eyes, a straight nose, and nice, full lips. _Handsome,_ Xiaojun decided. Even though he didn't know this man's name, or his personality, Xiaojun already found himself falling hard, and not just because of his attractive face. This was who the universe had destined to him, and something inside of this stranger called out to Xiaojun, comforting him and electrifying him all at once.

Though he couldn't see it, his timer reached zero at that exact second, before it flickered and changed to three months, five days, and twenty two hours.

"Soulmate!" The stranger - Xiaojun's _soulmate_ \- exclaimed, stepping back so Xiaojun could come inside their room. He had chestnut brown hair and a blinding smile that made Xiaojun feel unexplainably shy. "I was hoping you'd end up being my roommate. Here, you can choose which bed you'd like. I tried not to clutter up the room too much, but I think I overpacked. It's smaller in here than I thought it would be."

"It's okay, I didn't pack much," Xiaojun said with a smile. He set his box of clothes down on the bed closer to the bathroom. "So, uh...my name is Xiao Dejun, what about you?" He asked, trying to make conversation. He knew they'd get to know one another better in no time, but for now he couldn't shake the feeling of awkwardness that hung in the room, despite feeling like he already knew him, in a way.

"Liu Yangyang," the boy said, and just hearing his soulmate's name made Xiaojun's heart swell up with overwhelming joy. _Such a perfect name._ "Do you go by Dejun?" Yangyang continued, the almost erratic look in his eyes mirroring how Xiaojun felt on the inside. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this on edge, wound up tight and ready to fall. His hands shook, and he clasped them together to make it stop.

"Most of my friends call me Xiaojun," he said, looking over their new dorm room. It was small, but it would work as long as they didn't leave their stuff laying around. The kitchen area only had a sink and a small oven, with barely two feet of counter space. He grimaced, then continued. "You can call me that too, if you'd like."

"I just go by Yangyang," he said, sitting down on the other bed. "I can't believe how lucky I got! I was worried my soulmate would end up being a senior I bumped into or something, and I wouldn't get to see them often."

Xiaojun sat down on his bed as well, figuring he could get the rest of his stuff later. "You know, I was so excited for today I could hardly sleep at all last night," he said, trying to make conversation, and also curious if Yangyang had been anxious as himself.

"Me either! I was so worried my clock would mess itself up at the last minute and I'd miss you," Yangyang said with a laugh.

Xiaojun's head shot up. "Huh? Does...does your clock malfunction sometimes?"

"Yeah, it has ever since I was a kid. I thought that meant maybe I didn't have a soulmate, or that there were two possible ways we could've met and my clock couldn't decide which meeting to count down to. Thank goodness it chose this time and not the later one!" Yangyang let out a sigh, staring at Xiaojun almost dreamily. "You're a lot cuter than I thought you'd be," he said after a minute, making Xiaojun blush.

"I could say the same thing about you," he said, trying to come across as confident even as his voice shook. He scooted back in his bed until he could lean comfortably against the wall. "You know, my clock was acting up today, too."

"Guess we have something in common already," Yangyang said with a grin. His smile made Xiaojun's heart flutter.

"Guess we do," Xiaojun agreed.

☆ ☆ ☆

Yangyang had never expected for his life to become perfect after meeting his soulmate. That was an unrealistic expectation that many of his friends seemed to have, and he knew that if he had as well, he'd be disappointed.

Xiaojun didn't make his life magically perfect.

He did, however, brighten it. Yangyang got to wake up every morning and see his soulmate in their cramped little kitchen making breakfast, sometimes with his apron on and sometimes in just his pajamas. Either way, he looked absolutely adorable, and Yangyang often caught himself staring. Then they'd sit together on Yangyang's bed and eat together, their knees touching.

They studied together, ate together, and spent most of the free time together. Yangyang thought he'd get tired of Xiaojun's company after a while, but two months later and he still wanted to spend every waking minute with him. He'd never get sick of Xiaojun, he didn't think it was possible.

"Hey, do you need anything? I'm going to go pick up some snacks," Xiaojun asked, tapping on Yangyang's shoulder to get his attention. It was casual, mundane even, and yet it still set off an electric shock down Yangyang's spine.

"I don't need anything, but thanks," Yangyang said, flashing Xiaojun his warmest smile. Like always, Xiaojun went pink, flustered by Yangyang's attention.

"Ah, well, I'll be back soon, alright?" Xiaojun said, and Yangyang hummed in acknowledgement, his gaze straying to Xiaojun's wrist. His clock, similarly to Yangyang's, switched between times sporadically, and right now it said twenty nine days and two hours. At first, Yangyang thought it would be an issue, but Xiaojun didn't care that their clocks were broken.

 _"It doesn't matter, because we're still soulmates, aren't we?"_ He had said, ending the conflict before it started.

"I love you," he said as Xiaojun went to open the door, earning a flustered "love you too" in response.

He'd never get tired of this, ever.

☆ ☆ ☆

So, so close. Only three more minutes, and he'd get to meet his soulmate.

Hendery clutched onto his book bag so tight his knuckles turned white, and with every step he took he bounced, just a bit. Just enough to let everyone around him know he was excited. His eyes near left the timer on his wrist, which ticked down at a painfully slow paced. Each second felt like a minute, and he just wanted it to reach zero already! Hendery looked up just in time to dodge another student who wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he sidestepped around them.

He entered the cafeteria, his heart sinking when he saw how many other people were there. How was he supposed to know who his soulmate was when he was surrounded by dozens of unfamiliar faces?

He only had a minute left. He kept walking, the adrenaline running through his veins making it hard to focus on where he was going. _Fifty seconds._

He scanned the room, searching for someone looking at their wrist, someone who felt just as antsy as him, but no one seemed to be on the lookout for their soulmate. Maybe they hadn't noticed? Or maybe Hendery wasn't supposed to see them. He had thirty seconds left, after all. He couldn't rush it, they would meet in their own time, when they were supposed to.

Hendery didn't know where the instinct came from, but it told him to walk, so he did. It felt like a magnet, almost - a magnet pulling him towards his soulmate. He wove between tables, jittery with nerves and ready to break into a run. _Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen._

He kept on walking, glancing down at his wrist every second or so, not wanting to miss his soulmate.

_Ten. Nine._

A girl walked past him and gave him a small smile, but no, it was too early.

_Seven._

He turned, nearly crashing into a boy in a plaid shirt. "Sorry," he apologized, his eyes flickering down to his wrist. _Still four seconds. Not him._

_Three._

_Two._

The table in front of him had only two people sitting at it, a pair of boys, both around his age. One had fluffy brown hair while the other had his hair dyed blond, and Hendery found himself feeling torn. His timer had reached zero, and here he was, face to face with his soulmate, and yet he didn't know who he was. Both drew him in, but neither pull was stronger than the other.

The blond was the first to notice him, standing in front of their table and looking between them like a weirdo. Hendery felt his face flush with heat.

"Hey, can we help you?" He asked, seeming friendly enough, though a bit wary. "There's room to sit if you want to eat with us." Then his gaze fell to Hendery empty hands, and he frowned. "Or...do you want something else?"

The brunet looked up then, his eyes glittering with their own light, and Hendery found himself staring once more, mesmerized by his handsome face.

"If you don't need anything..." the blonde trailed off, his gaze hardening when he saw that Hendery was staring at his friend. Based on the protective hand he set on the brunet's arm, maybe they were more than just friends. Hendery felt his heart drop into his stomach. So his soulmate already had someone, then, though which one was which he still couldn't tell.

"I just thought..." he looked down helplessly at his timer, which stared back with its blank face, taunting him. "Never mind, it's nothing. Sorry to bother you two."

The brunet stood up so fast he knocked his drink over. "Wait!" He said, and the blond glared up at him. "Don't go, you can eat with us! I...I don't think we've met before, but my name is Yangyang. This is my boyfriend, Dejun, but most people call him Xiaojun."

Xiaojun scowled, though he looked more nervous than mad. "Yangyang, let him go, he doesn't need to eat with us."

"But..." Yangyang looked at his wrist, expression conflicted. "I can't explain it, but..."

"No, you're _my_ soulmate," Xiaojun blurted, his cool façade cracking as Yangyang went to grab Hendery's hand. "Just because your timer is messed up doesn't mean it's wrong! We talked about this, didn't we? Our clocks are broken, but we're still meant to be."

"I didn't mean to start a fight," Hendery said, backing away from the table. His timer had been wrong, horribly wrong. It gave him a soulmate who already found somebody. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill at any minute, but if he did cry, it would only make the situation more awkward. "I'm sorry, I'll go."

Xiaojun opened his mouth, then closed it. Yangyang looked pained, torn between his soulmate and the stranger that had enchanted him. Hendery willed his feet to work, but they wouldn't move.

Yangyang watched him, his eyes frantically scanning his face, and Hendery wanted nothing more than to run up to him and sit with him and just _be_ with him. Then he looked at Xiaojun, who made him feel the exact same way. And Xiaojun was so pretty, with his sharp features and dark eyes. He wanted them both.

"Xiaojun, he's my soulmate," Yangyang whispered, and Xiaojun jerked sharply at that, his jaw going slack. "I'm not leaving you," Yangyang said quickly, sensing his boyfriend's fear. "You're mine, too, it's just...my timer counted down to this day, too. Ours both did, remember? Maybe they weren't broken. Maybe we have another soulmate." He turned to look at Hendery, the intensity in his words making Hendery's knees feel weak. "You can feel it too, can't you?"

Hendery nodded silently, not sure what to say. Could people even have two soulmates? He had never heard of it before. How could there be two people destined for him?

"So you're saying you want to date both of us?" Xiaojun asked, uncertainty clear in his voice. "Won't people think that's...weird? Three of us together like that? And what if you end up loving one of us more?"

"I won't think that'll happen. It's like with your family, you love them all in different ways, but it's all equal, right? This is the same thing, only it's romantic love. And I don't care what other people think, I want to be with both of my soulmates." Yangyang turned and gave Hendery a warm smile, holding his hand out once more. "Come on, eat with us. Xiaojun isn't as scary as he seems."

Xiaojun made a face, his cheeks going pink. He sunk a bit lower into his seat as Hendery sat next to him. Xiaojun gave him a small, shy smile, no longer acting hostile towards him, thank goodness. Yangyang passed Hendery some of his leftover food, already starting to talk about how he and Xiaojun had met. Instead of feeling jealous, like he thought he would, Hendery found himself smiling, fully enthralled. He wished he could've been there to witness that, been there to see the moment when his soulmates fell in love.

"I wonder how rare this is," Xiaojun said a while. "We can't be the only ones, right?"

"I've never heard of it before, but we probably aren't the first. There must be others that belong with two people," Yangyang said. Hendery smiled, watching as the other two spoke. They looked at each other with so much love in their eyes, it was one of the sweetest things he had ever witnessed.

And then that affectionate gaze was turned on him, and Hendery's heart seemed to swell. He was a part of this. They loved him, too. Maybe not as much, not yet, but someday they would, once they got to know each other more.

"You know, we don't have a lot of room in our dorm, since it's pretty small, but you can visit whenever you want," Xiaojun said. "We have a spare key, if you want it, and once we're a bit older we can rent an apartment together."

Hendery tried to fight back his smile, but it grew too big, he couldn't hold it back. "I think I'd like that, yeah."

"Let's go one a date after school, all three of us," Yangyang said excitedly. "It can be my treat."

The other two agreed just as the bell rang, reminding them that they were still at school. They parted ways, each going to their own respective classrooms. Hendery had barely taken three steps and already he felt cold and lonely. He wanted to be near Yangyang, with his warm smile, and Xiaojun, with his bright eyes. He knew that he'd been anxiously waiting for their date for the rest of the school day.

He couldn't wait to be near them once more, to feel the warmth and love they radiated with, both to each other and himself.

They were both perfect for him, each in their own way, and Hendery felt like the luckiest man on earth.

**Author's Note:**

> Defintely not my best work, but I thought it was an interesting idea to explore. I hope you were able to enjoy it!


End file.
